Header Menu

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Author Interview & Contest with Cassandra Clare

This week my guest here on Amberkatze's Book Blog is author Cassandra Clare. Cassandra is the writer behind The Mortal Instruments series and the upcoming Infernal Devices books.

Here is your chance to get to know Cassandra better and also win one of her books. Enjoy the interview and make sure you enter the contest!

-------------------------

Amber - Welcome to Amberkatze's Book Blog! It is great to have you as a guest here and I hope you will enjoy your time here ;)

Amber - Did you always want to be a writer? What other jobs have you had?

Cassandra - I always wanted to be a writer. I always loved writing. And reading. Most people who love to write, start with a love of reading. I started writing books when I was about 12. They were all terrible and all in different genres. I wrote a terrible vampire novel and a terrible mystery novel and a terrible romance novel and a terrible Arthurian novel. Then I went to college and I took some writing classes, and I didn’t really enjoy them all that much, and I figured maybe I didn’t want to be a fiction writer. After college I worked as a journalist and I also worked part-time in a children’s bookstore. It was working in the children’s bookstore and starting to re-read the books I’d read when I was a kid that rekindled my desire to write.

Amber - How did you end up writing Young Adult? Was it planned? What about the paranormal genre?

Cassandra - Well, when you sit down to write a book about teenagers and there's magic in it, then it often ends up being shelved/marketed as young adult fantasy. But it isn't the writer who makes those categorical marketing decisions. You just write the book you want to write.

Amber - Are you anything like your characters? Are any of them based on people you know?

Cassandra - No. Sometimes minor characters have the names on people I know — Simon’s friends Eric, Kirk and Matt are all the names of friends of mine. But I don't put myself or people I know in my books. These characters are created to fit the needs of the story and to be very much themselves. Sometimes they incorporate aspects of people I know, or have met, like Simon’s sense of humor or Clary’s artistry. Jace, alas, is definitely not based on anyone real.

Amber - The Mortal Instruments series has three books so far. What is next? Book four or something new?

Cassandra - The series I am working on right now is called The Infernal Devices. The Infernal Devices is a series of prequels to The Mortal Instruments, set in 19 $B!l (Bth century London. It won’t have our current characters in it, except for Magnus Bane, but it does deal with their ancestors. You can find out more by clicking here!

Amber - The covers for the Mortal Instruments series are gorgeous. Did you have any say in how the finished book would look? How much input do you really have as an author once you have handed your story over?

Cassandra - I didn't have any say in how the first finished book looked. The way it looks is exactly how it looks when the cover image first landed in my inbox. I do like the covers, but it wouldn't have made any difference if I didn't. An author, especially a first-time author, has very little influence over what goes on their covers. I did get some input into the third cover, only because we wound up having a conference about who we thought should be featured on that cover and they listened to my suggestions. That's unusual though.

Amber - You are going on tour soon and will actually be visiting Vienna, Austria (where I am!) as well as some other places in Europe. Seeing as authors rarely come here I have to ask how did this tour come about? (more information here!)

Cassandra - Well, I've been very lucky, and the Chroniken die Underwelt books have been a big success in the German language. They've sold well enough there that my publisher thought it would be a good idea to bring me over to meet readers and get a chance to talk to them about the next series: The Infernal Devices. I'm very excited to get the chance to go!

Amber - How important it is for you as an author to keep up with all these websites such as Facebook, Twitter, Myspace etc. Do you think all these sites are good or bad for authors?

Cassandra - I think as an author there's a fine line there. You want to have an online presence so you can reach out to fans and readers. You want to be able to easily get information out to them, and get their feedback yourself. But you don't want to spend so much time monitoring Myspace and Twitter that you have no time to write your books, which is of course, the most important thing.

Amber - What do you like to do to relax?

Cassandra - I like to travel.

Amber - Lots of authors have playlists for their books. What music or bands would find their way onto a playlist for the Mortal Instruments Series?

Cassandra - You can find playlists for the Mortal Instruments books here:

Click to see Playlists

Amber - Thank you so much for being a guest on Amberkatze's Book Blog. I hope you will pop by again sometime and I hope to see you in Vienna in November!

Cassandra - Yes, hope to see you then!




--------------------

Contest Time

This week you could win a 'Mortal Instrument' book of your choice.

All you have to do to enter is recommend a book! I am sure you all have one (or even more) books that you want to tell the world about. Well here is your chance. Feel free to link to your review, tell us a little about the book or just give us the title and author so we can check it out for ourselves!

No Recommendation (Title & Author Please!) = No entry!

The usual rules apply!

Earn another entry for each place you link this contest on the net. Make sure you add links here for me to confirm your entries!

You can also earn extra entries by emailing your friends about the contest. Just make sure you send a copy of your email or receipt to me at Amberkatzes_book_blog at gmx dot net.

I will offer more prizes if my Amazon Associates account gets more money!! So please make sure you order at Amazon.com through the links around the site and help keep the contest coming!



The contest will stay open until Sunday 9th of August 2009 4pm CET and the winner will be picked by a randomizer. Entrants should check back to see if they have won. I do not hunt down winners and will pick new winners for any prizes not claimed within 7 days.

If you are claiming a prize, have emailed me and have not heard back before the 7 day limit is up then post a comment here on the blog. Your email may get sucked into my spam filter.

73 comments:

Anonymous said...

great Interview.i've been meaning to pick these books up for awhile but just haven't gotten around to it.Thanks for the opportunity to win one.

A book I reccommend is Wake by Lisa McMann(YA).Its the 1st book in a trilogy and its fantastic.The 2nd book is Fade and the 3rd comes out in the Spring,its called Gone.
Here is a synopsis of Wake:
For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can't tell anybody about what she does -- they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant....

elaing8(at)netscape(dot)net

Kytaira said...

I am a Harry Potter fan. For this question though I went to my 13 year old daughter. She recommends Tamora Pierce's Song of the Lioness series, starting with Alanna: The First Adventure.

I asked her to read the excerpts on your site and see if she would be interested and she loved them. Thanks!

lynda98662 at yahoo dot com

Anonymous said...

I recommend Catching Fire by Suzanne Collins and The Hollow Kingdom series by Claire Dunkle. They are amazing reads. The Hollow Kingdom is about an estate in England where two sister meet goblins.
Cindysku07@aol.com

Vickie said...

I hear a lot of good things about this series on Shelfari Kick Ass Chicks board.
The first book of the series is on the WWBL and in my shopping cart.

A book recommendation:
GARDEN SPELLS - Sarah Addison Allen, I love this book. It's on my keeper shelf after reading it in June. I can't wait to read THE SUGAR QUEEN.

Shawna L. said...

Shawna Lewis
weloveourdogs@juno.com

I would say read Swan Song By Robert McCammon it is my very Favorite book in the world I just love it!!!

booksrmysoul said...

Blair lewis
blairwlewis@gmail.com

My fav. book in Battle Royal. It is a lot like Hunger Games but a little more adult.
It is by an japan author & I can't spell this name. My Mom is reading it now or I'd copy it off the book cover. They have movies out and Graphic novels also. The Book really rocks!!!! It is the 1st book that I really like. If you likes Hunger Games then you will LOVE Battle Royal!!

Karen W. said...

I enjoyed the interview, and I love YA fantasy/paranormal.

I would highly recommend THE BOOK THIEF by Markus Zusak. It's a beautifully written book about the lives of several different people and how they intersect in Nazi Germany. It's touching and unforgettable.

Ellz said...

I am in the middle of City of Ashes. I am really enjoying this series so far. I bought the first two copies, but I don't own the last one. Not yet.

I recommend The Traveler by John Twelve Hawks. This is a book about a group of people who can travel between realms of our world and the people who protect them. There are two out so far and a third to be released this year. Here is a link to his website...
http://www.randomhouse.com/features/johntwelvehawks/

Llehn said...

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. It's been tagged as the next Twilight.

donnas said...

Great interview. I totally recommend the Wicked Years series by Gregory MacGuire. Even if you are not a Wizard of Oz fan this is a wonderful series. They have to be read in order and right now there are 3 out there to get. They are about so much more than the story we all know about Oz, they really make you think about current times and issues as well. There is just so much you can get from them. I think everyone should read them. I really recommend all his books but this series affected me the most.

I also posted on the sidebar here:
http://donnasbloghome.blogspot.com/

bacchus76 at myself dot com

StyleVamp said...

I just finished reading this series and so far it's one my favorite YA series that I have read. The world that she has created is very original and different, kudos to this author and I wish her plenty of success on her upcoming series.

Hmmm books that I would recommend would be...

The House of Night Series= YA series, once you begin reading the 1st book Marked you'll be addicted to this page turning series.


Blue Bloods= YA Series is has so many secrets and cliffhangers that you just want to scream at the author lol never the less it's still a good read.

Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs ..If you haven't read this series yet, then you need to put down what ever you're reading run (not walk) to the nearest bookstore and buy the 1st book.

It'll be worth it...

Unknown said...

I have the 1st 2 books in this series in my TBR huge pile and have only heard great comments about them!!
The best book I've read so far this year is Prey by Rachel Vincent, I don't want this series to ever end!!

tetewa said...

Rachel Caine's Glass House is the first in her Morganville Vampire series. I'm loving this series.

Unknown said...

I recommend Jesse's Girl by Gary Morganstein.

bjhopper(at)me(dot)com

Unknown said...

tweet

http://twitter.com/bridget3420/status/3107984633

Unknown said...

Shared on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/posted.php?id=1084897775&share_id=107497874723&comments=1&ref=nf#s107497874723

Unknown said...

Digg

http://digg.com/people/Amberkatze_s_Book_Blog

Cheryl F said...

I recommened the Broken Hearts Oklahoma Series by Michelle Bardsley for a fun read.

Unknown said...

Blogged about giveaway

http://bridget3420.blogspot.com/2009/08/82-book-giveaway-list_03.html

bjhopper(at)me(dot)com

Cheryl F said...

Shared on facebook
http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=690393566&ref=name

Cheryl F said...

I tweeted this

https://twitter.com/Tx_Sweetie/status/3108252854

binabug said...

just finished reading it (was a good scary read)
Worse Nightmares by Shane Briant)

not sure if the contest is open to Canadians,but if it is, please enter me as well

if I won I would appreciate the first book in the series as I've not yet read any of them..they look like something you'd find in my bookcase :) (unless my teen kids have them in their backpacks lol)
thanks alot
sabina dot edwards at gmail dot com

Pam said...

I enjoyed Would-be Witch by Kimberly Frost. The Book of Negroes by Lawrence Hill is an incredible story.

melacan at hotmail dot com

LuAnn said...

My favorite book of all time is Stephen King's The Stand! More recently, I just finished reading "The Hidden Man" by David Ellis and loved it!

demmi said...

I would recommend the book Dracula which is nothing like the movies con5459(at)gmail(dot)com

cait045 said...

I loved the book series from Karen Chance's about Cassandra Palmer. Touch the Dark is the first book and it is awesome.

M.A.D. said...

Mary D
zenrei57 (at) hotmail (dot) com

Great interview and great idea! okay, I was recently introduced to the first two books in the Dreamhouse King series by R. Liparulo (think I spelled it right lol).
They are YA paranormal and are SO good, that I am frothing to get the next 3 in the series!
EVERYBODY should get ahold of HOUSE OF DARK SHADOWS / WATCHER IN THE WOODS and see for themselves! You'll be as hooked as I am :)

AmandaK said...

The books I would recommend is the Joe Pitt series by Charlie Huston. If you like vampires, then you'll love this series!! I could not put the books down!

orchestratenoise0726[at]yahoo[dot]com

Pat said...

I just finished reading Skin Trade by Laurell K Hamilton - another great book in the Anita Blake Vampire Hunter series; took me an entire day, and I got nothing else done, but it was worth it! She can really write a good book!

Dawn M. said...

One of my favorite books by far this year is Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles. http://www.perfectchemistrythebook.com/

It's a YA book about a boy & girl from very different backgrounds who are thrown together as lab partners. And what starts out as just a star crossed romance turns into a story about how people's lives & goals aren't always how they seem.

This is one of the few books since Twilight that really just pulled me in and didn't want to let me go. I was still thinking about it days after I finished it. It's really good. :0)

Thanks!
librarygrinch at gmail dot com

All This Silence... said...

My boyfriend gave me his Icewind Dale Trilogy book by R.A. Salvatore, and I'm in love with it!! If you like The Lord Of The Rings, you'll adore this trilogy!! Seriously, everyone on Earth should read this once in their lifetime!!!

sarah_bear_38@yahoo.com

Unknown said...

Hi :)
Thanks for having a great interview with Cassandra Clare!
And thanks to Cassandra Clare for sharing with us.
:)
I recommend REGENESIS by C.J. Cherryh.

http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/c/c-j-cherryh/regenesis.htm

:)
Love and best wishes,
twitter.com/RKCharron
rkcharron @ gmail . com
:)
xoxo

Carol EL said...

I'm reading The Night Gardener by George Pelecanos,he's one of my favorites. jelly15301@gmail.com

Anonymous said...

I just finished reading "Jansten's Gift" by Pam Cope and cried throughout most of it. If you enjoy feel-good books and about helping others, you'll love this one!


texas_heartland84[at]yahoo[dot]com

littlelatina said...

Yeah im ready to read this series. I just read The Creator's Map. Very interesting story

Curling up by the Fire said...

If you are a science fantasy lover, I recommend the Daughter of the Empire Trilogy by Raymond Feist and Janny Wurtz. I absolutely loved them and have read them several times. What I really liked about the books is that I never knew what was going to happen and none of the characters was spared during the trilogy with many unexpected twists and deaths along the way. And I loved how the characters developed and changed along the way, making many mistakes.

Rabid Fox said...

It doesn't fall anywhere near the urban fantasy category, but I'm going to recommend Cormac McCarthy's "No Country for Old Men." It was a darned good movie, and a fantastic book. HERE is my review.

e-mail: rabidfox(at)ymail.com

If you're looking for something in the UF field, however, I'll add Jaye Wells' "Red-Headed Stepchild," which I reviewed HERE.

Rabid Fox said...

Also, I added a link to this contest on the right sidebar of my blog, in the "Contests" section.

http://waggingthefox.blogspot.com/

e-mail: rabidfox(at)ymail.com

Enchanted by Books said...

Hi Amber! I enjoyed the interview! I would love to win a book by Cassandra Clare! Here's my recommendation:
http://booklover07202.blogspot.com/2009/07/my-soul-to-take-review.html

Screw Lucy said...

I would like to recommend Paul Coehlo's new book "The Winner Stands Alone"

Anonymous said...

Elsewhere by Gabrielle Zevin
It's about a girl who passes away and her experiences in the after life. She falling in love, growing younger, and viewing her family's mourning from up above. Very creative, I enjoyed it!
I would love to win one of these! They're right up my alley. I'm dying to read them. Thank you for having this guest!
BethanyTate1(at)gmail(dot)com

Ms. Asphyxia said...

I recommend Underneath This Unbroken Sky by Mitchell. It's a book about Ukrainian immigrants in Canada. It's a very emotional book.

Valorie
morbidromantic@gmail.com

Ina said...

oh, don't miss "Blood Magic" by Jennifer Lyon - that's my book of the year!
For a review go to: www.liebesromanforum.de (German)

By the way, that was a great interview - loved it!

Have a nice day,
Ina

clynsg said...

I am reading Ghost at Work by Carolyn Hart right now. It is a little quirky, but is looking pretty good.

clynsg at yahoo.com

mrsshukra said...

Just finished reading Christie Kelly's Every Night I'm Yours and I recommend it!

delilah0180(at)yahoo(dot)com

Jesi813 said...

Great interview, I'm currently reading the 2nd book of this series and I am on edge to see what happens next!

The book that would recommend would be the Mercy Thompson Series by Patricia Briggs. It's fun and exciting story to read...

Kassy821 said...

This series is the next one that is on my TBR (To Be Read) pile. i have the 1st book and I can't wait to read it.

The book I would recommend is the series for the House Of Night P.C. Cast + Kristin Cast my favorite book from this series is Book 4 Untamed..

Maija said...

This book is actually a science book, but it is so awesome that I wanted to tell about it:

Donald Brownlee & Peter Ward: The Life and Death of Planet Earth

Mardel said...

I'm going to recommend two books from the same author.
The Sweet Scent of Blood and The Cold Kiss of Death. They are both from a series called Spellcrackers.com by Suzanne McLeod. Wonderful writer and great books. They are set in London and have Sidhe Fae, Fae, Trolls, Vampires, Witches and lots of wonderful characters.

Another fairly new author is Devon Monk who has written (Allie Beckstrom Series) Magic to the Bone (#1) and Magic in the Blood #2) with Magic in the Shadows (#3) coming out in November 3, 2009. This series has a different take on magic and magic use, the cost of magic use. Set in Oregon (U.S.)

Both of the above are adult urban fantasy.

A good YA urban fantasy is Strange Angels by Lili St.Crow, who has also written a sequel (Betrayals)coming out this fall also. This is a fairly dark YA book, I enjoyed it very much.

I enjoyed Cassandra's interview and wow, there is a lot of great sounding books being recommended.

Unknown said...

I just finished The Historian by Elizabeth Kostovo and it was amazing! A little lengthy and if you aren't into geography or history, then I may skip it, but I thought it was absolutely fascinating. Thanks for the giveaway!

luckymegs1981 AT yahoo DOT com

Pissenlit said...

Book recommendations, eh?

Though not a YA book, I just finished and really enjoyed Jeri Smith-Ready's Bad to the Bone(#2 of her WVMP Radio series, #1 is Wicked Game).

A YA recommendation, though not urban fantasy, is L.A. Meyer's Bloody Jack: Being an Account of the Curious Adventures of Mary Jacky Faber, Ship's Boy(#1 in his Bloody Jack series).

Pissenlit said...

Bother, after fiddling with those HTML tags, I forgot to mention that I blogged about this contest.

http://unpissenlit.livejournal.com/28289.html

Anonymous said...

Great Interview BTW! Ok, I just finished an ARC by Kimberly Killion it is called HIGHLAND DRAGON! I am going to blog today about it... AMAZING I TELL YOU!!!!!!!
bjwaldron@gamil.com

Kim (Randominities) said...

Thanks for having that interview. I love young adult books. They are so much fun, besides which I do have a young adult that loves them, too.

I enjoyed the interview. I love to hear the views of the author as well.

Thanks so much for this contest. I love finding new (to me) authors.

Kim (Randominities) said...

http://randominities-etsy.blogspot.com/

I posted about your contest. I also noticed that I didn't (in my last entry) give a recommended book.

Sorry.

I recommend The Curious Case of the Dog at Midnight.

It's about an austistic teen boy that tries to figure out why a dog got hurt in the middle of the night. This mystery is very interesting and convuluted. It's a great read!

Misusedinnocence said...

Kushiel's Dart by Jaqueline Carey. :)

misusedinnocence@aol.com

chromiumman said...

i'd like to recommend my fave book, the moon is a harsh mistress by robert heinlein

erma said...

I love to recomend the Tightwad Gazzete for frugal living.
erma.hurtt@sbcglobal.net

Mishel (P.S. I Love Books) said...

Fantastic interview ladies! And I totally love the fact that elaing8 (the first commentor) recommended Wake by Lisa McMann. I was totally surprised at how much I really enjoyed the book!

I'd like to recommend a book I just finished reading recently, Undone by Karin Slaughter. You can find my review here: http://creativitygone.blogspot.com/2009/08/day-244-undone.html.

It's really good! It's a thriller/crime book about a serial killer. I'm usually not into books of this type but the characters are so well-developed and I just fell in love with the author's writing. Do check it out if you have the time =)

P.S. Amberkatze I posted a link to this contest on my sidebar (http://creativitygone.blogspot.com) thanks so much for the wonderful giveaway!

mishtakes AT gmail DOT com

D Q said...

I would recommend The Septimus Heap series by Angie Sage. There are 4 books in the series. Magyk, Flyte, Physic, and Queste.I enjoyed them all.

Minx Malone said...

I love "Wicked Lovely" by Melissa Marr. It's about Faeries but these faeries are dark and seductive and different. It's a YA novel but does have some scenes of sexuality, violence and drug use. Nothing gratuitous just a realistic depiction, I think.

minx (AT) minxmalone (DOT) com

saturdaynightfever said...

"On Chesil Beach' by Ian McEwan was an enjoyable read.

edgenemmers@gmail.com

Candie L said...

I enjoyed Sunday at Tiffany's by James Patterson. It was very thought provoking. Thank you

candieluster(at)gmail(dot)com

Deidre said...

I already own all of the Mortal Instrument books, and I highly recommend them! Love that you are giving them away. I was not aware though that Cassandra was working on a new series, I look forward to seeing it on the bookshelves. other books I read are a bit different, but I recommend anything by Tim Dorsey (these are more adult, not for kids/teens) and also Rat Saw God by Rob Thomas, which is a teen fiction book.

babygrrl_2000@hotmail.com

Unknown said...

I recommend The Quilter's Apprentice.

Unknown said...

Shanghai Girls by Lisa See garrettsambo@aol.com

lilyk said...

I recommend How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman. It's a cookbook, but a very interesting one. ;0D

blogggggg said...

I just finished When You Are Engulfed in Flames by David Sedaris. It was absolutely hilarious. He is a bit odd, but I definitely recommend checking his books out!

wordsmoveme at gmail dot com

masonsgranny59 said...

I WOULD recommened the Broken Hearts Oklahoma Series by Michelle Bardsley :)
TY 4 THE AWESOME REVIEW,GIVEAWAY AND 4 THE ENTRY:)

ladycat713 said...

Watch Me by A.J. Holt

ladycat713@yahoo.com

Qwill said...

I haven't read much in the fantasy/sci fi genre lately but these sound good. I recommend the Dexter series of books. They are now a show on Showtime.

Qwill said...

I tweeted: http://twitter.com/qwills2cats/status/3215322139

Maja said...

Henry & June, Anais Nin